A Love that Spreads
by XxEpicfailxX
Summary: Being diagnosed with a deadly sickness at a young age has left Arabella feeling down and out. Can a lone Asian man change that?
1. Arabella

Being stuck in a hospital bed is typically not the way someone wants to remember their childhood, but that's what the majority of mine consisted of. I was barely in school, so my family arranged for a tutor to come and teach me while I was in the hospital. I can remember the day that I received the news like it was yesterday.

"_Daddy, I don't feel good. Can I go to the doctor?" My six-year-old self remembered asking my dad, who was busy working on the radio in his Challenger._

"_Sure honey. What's wrong, exactly?" He put down his pliers and pulled me into his lap._

"_My head really hurts and I just threw up a little." He frowned and set me in the backseat. "Buckle up, baby. I'll take you to the hospital in a few minutes. "Okay, daddy."_

"_I'm just going to tell your brother and sister what's going on and then we'll leave." He walked into the house, leaving me on my own for the time being. My head was throbbing and I smelled something metallic before my nose started running. I didn't have any tissue, so I wiped with the back of my hand. All I saw was red and I started screaming. _

_My dad came running out flanked by my brother and sister. "What's wrong?! Oh! Hey, one of you get some tissue, lots of it!" My big brother ran in the house and came back with a whole roll of tissue. _

"_Here baby, put this under your nose and tilt your head back. You two get back in the house. I'll call when we get to the hospital." With that, he jumped in the car and took off through the streets of L.A. to the nearest hospital. I was rushed to the ER and was seen by a doctor within ten minutes. My nosebleed had subsided, but my head was still throbbing and my stomach was churning. I had to go through a giant machine that looked like a donut and an IV thing was put into my arm. I was told that it was called a CT scan and it would show pictures of my brain when I was done. I felt something being pumped into my arm and soon, I saw nothing but darkness. _

_I woke up to the sound of crying and I wiped my eyes, struggling to open them. When I finally managed to, I was in a hospital bed and I looked over to see my dad talking on the phone with tears running down his face. "Daddy, what's wrong?" He looked at me and forced a smile, wiping away the tears. He came and sat down next to me in the bed. _

"_Honey, the doctor just told me that you're very sick. You have something called a meningioma tumor. It's a cancer in your brain and it's a very rare kind for someone your age. The good doctors are going to take care of you, okay? You have to go into a surgery so they can take a look."_

"_Daddy, I'm scared! I don't wanna be sick! I wanna be healthy like you!" Tears poured out of my eyes before I could try and control them. He clutched onto me tightly and kissed the top of my head._

"_I know baby girl, we're going to try and make you healthy. You have to be brave. Can you do that for me?"_

_I nodded and he wiped away the tears. "That's great. Some nice nurses are going to come and take you into the surgery soon. Your brother and sister should be here soon." He began to rub my hair and play with my fingers as we waited for those nurses to come in. There was a knock on the door and two heads poked through._

"_Hello, we're here to take you to surgery, honey. Are you ready?" One of the women smiled at my dad and me. I looked up at him and he nodded, getting up from the bed and allowing the other nurse to wheel me outside. We entered a room and I say a lone light coming from the middle and a few doctors standing around with masks on their faces. _

"_Alright, little missy, we're going to put you to sleep and see what we're dealing with. Is that alright with you?" One of the doctors asked. I nodded and he nodded to the nurse. She hooked me up to another IV and I winced as the needle when in. The last thing I saw was the glint of a small knife._

A knock on the door brought me back to reality and I yelled at them to come in. The first thing I saw was a big bouquet of red roses, letting me know immediately who was at the door.

"Vince! Hey, I missed you!" He smiled at me boyishly and made his way over to the nightstand that held the previous bouquet of flowers he brought. He took the old, wilted roses out, poured out the old water, refilled it and tossed the new ones in the vase. He sat in the seat next to the bed and grabbed my hand.

"How've you been, baby doll?" He asked in that gruff voice of his.

"I've been alright. I've done a lot of vomiting this week and it's like I can't keep anything but fluids down. I had a really bad headache on Monday, but it's down to a subtle throbbing now. How have things been at the fort? Is the garage doing okay?"

"Man, you go through so much shit. You shouldn't have to for someone so young. Uh, the fort and the garage are both doing great. Everyone wants to come see you, but they're all busy. I managed to sneak away for a little bit."

I laughed and scratched my forehead. "Dom must've been gone." "Yeah, you got me on that one."

My stomach churned familiarly and my hand flew to my mouth. "Oh no." Vince grabbed the basin that was next to his chair and lifted it to my mouth. I threw up the contents of my stomach and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Groaning, I laid back in the bed.

"Vinny, I hate this. Why did God give me cancer?" The question I've been asking myself for the last thirteen years.

"I don't know, baby girl, but you're going to be okay. Dom is paying for the best doctors and the best care that you can get. You're so lucky to have a brother like him. He loves you so much and he's going to make sure you make it to your wedding day and have lots of healthy babies."

"I'm lucky to have a brother like you too, Vinny. Sneaking away from his job to come see little 'ol me." He ruffled my hair and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Speaking of job, I should probably be getting back. Don't look at me like that, you know I can't stay."

I continued to pout and he chuckled as he walked to the door.

"Bye baby girl. Mia said she would be by later, so that's something to look forward to. I'll see you another time."

"Bye, I love you."

He left and I sighed as the door closed. My name is Arabella Torretto and I'm a 19-year-old cancer patient.


	2. Going Home

Just as Vince said, Mia came in with all smiles as usual. She had her hair thrown up into a high ponytail and she was dressed simply in a light pink tank top and capris. She walked over to the TV and turned it to the closest cartoon station, which happened to be Nickelodeon.

"Hey Bella, how are you feeling today?" After Vince left, I threw up once more and my body felt weak. The nurse tried to get me to eat some Jell-O, but I just couldn't.

"I'm really not feeling that good, Mia. I can't feel the left side of my body at the moment and my head is still throbbing."

"What do the doctors do when you can't feel parts of your body?"

"They do something call cortical stimulation. It's a type of electrocution that goes to my cortex. It usually helps the mobility of my arm and leg after a short period of time."

"Well, are you hungry at all? I brought your favorite candy." She pulled out a king sized pack of mini M&Ms and sat them on the bed.

"I'm really not hungry, Mia, but thanks. I want to go home. I'm sick of being here."

"Bella, you know you can't leave right now. Look at the condition you're in!"

I looked down at the pack of candy sadly and Mia grabbed my hand.

"Look, how about this? When you're feeling better, ask the doctor about a trip home, okay? Everyone misses you and I'm sure they'd love to have you home for a little while. How does that sound?"

I nodded and smiled a little. "I'd like that."

* * *

We sat in silence for a while and just watched SpongeBob until a nurse came in and told Mia that visiting hours were over. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug before waving and leaving the hospital. That same nurse helped me undress and get into the tub, allowing me to clean myself off. She helped me out and to get dressed, escorting me back to bed.

A few minutes later, Dr. Irving came in with a gentle smile and the cortical stimulator. "Hello Miss Torretto. I've heard you're having hemiparesis on your left side, is that correct?"

I nodded and he began hooking up the stimulator to my forehead. He set up an IV and the sedative medicine began to set in. "I'll see you in the morning, Miss Torretto." The last thing I saw was his gentle smile.

I opened my eyes groggily, reaching up to wipe the sleep out of my eyes. I paused for a second and smiled as I realized my left arm was functioning again. There was a very subtle throbbing in my head, but I wasn't feeling nauseated. In fact, I was feeling pretty damn good. I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed my cell phone, seeing that it was 10:36 AM. Yawning, I tossed the blanket off of my body and took a deep breath before getting out of bed to test my balance. My legs were sturdy and I wasn't dizzy: also an improvement.

Walking out of my room, I ran headfirst into a soft body. Stumbling back, I blinked and looked up to see a very handsome Asian man. "Uh, I'm sorry," he said. I liked his voice, it was deep, but held a light tone.

"It's okay, I'm totally fine," I said with a smile. With the terrible luck that I have, not even five seconds after I said that, my left leg gave out and I stumbled forward. He reached out and grabbed me before I could hit the ground, helping me back to my bed.

"Hey, are you alright? Do I need to page a doctor?"

I chuckled bitterly; I hate getting my hopes up. "No, it's okay. My leg just gave out; it's a common occurrence. Can you bring me that wheelchair?" I pointed to the wheelchair sitting in the farthest corner.

He retrieved the wheelchair and helped me into it, lowering me slowly and gently. "Thank you…?"

"Han, Han Lue." "Well, thank you, Han. Even though this little incident just ruined my mood."

"What do you mean?"

"I was on my way to tell someone that I was feeling better because my sister promised that if I was feeling better then I could come home for a while."

He nodded and pulled a candy bar out of his jean pocket. He began opening it and pointed to it, asking if I wanted any.

"I'm alright. I haven't even eaten the candy my sister brought me yesterday."

"So…what's wrong, exactly? If you don't mind me asking."

"I have a type of brain cancer. It's called Meningioma. I was diagnosed with it when I was six and I've been dealing with it ever since."

"Wow, that's crazy. So, because your leg gave out you can't go home?"

"I'm not completely sure. I mean, I don't have any problems moving around in my wheelchair, it's just annoying. I'm not nauseous, my memory is in tact at the moment, and I haven't had any recent seizures, so I'd say I'm doing okay. I'm also not as weak as I was yesterday."

Han just looked at me with pity in his eyes and he ate his candy bar. It was really starting to bother me.

"Hey Han?" "Hm?"

"Can you stop looking at me like that, please? I don't want your pity, I get my fair share of it."

"Uh, right. I should get going anyway. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Han, really." He shrugged and walked to the door. "It was nice meeting you…?"

"Arabella."

"Arabella."

He left and I sighed, following behind him out to the reception desk. "Hi, I was wondering if I could check out for a few days?" I asked Ms. April.

"Let me check with Dr. Irving and he'll be in with you soon, Miss Torretto."

"Thank you."

I wheeled back to my room and grabbed my mini M&Ms, waiting patiently for Dr. Irving to come in. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Irving poked his head inside the room.

"You asked to see me, Miss Torretto?"

"Yes sir, I did. I was wondering if I could go home for a few days? I'm feeling really home sick."

"Hmmm, let me check you over and then we'll discuss it. I see that you're using your wheel chair. Are you still having problems with hemiparesis?"

"Not particularly. My left leg gave out after trying to walk a little. Other than that I'm feeling completely fine. There's no nausea or anything. I can remember the whole week too."

I looked at him with a hopeful smile and puppy dog eyes, my secret weapon. He got the thermometer, asking me to open my mouth so he could set it under my tongue. A few seconds later, it beeped and he took it out.

"You have a slight fever of 99.3, so if you promise to take your medicine and take it easy, I'll allow you to go home for a few days. You need to stay in the chair so nothing happens to you, alright?"

I nodded eagerly. "I can do that, sir. I'll call my brother now, he can sign me out."

"That sounds like a plan, Miss Torretto. I'll have April get your forms ready."

He left and I squealed with excitement as I pulled my phone out and dialed Dom.

"Hey baby girl," his deep voice rang through the phone.

"Dom, guess what?!"

"What is it?"

"I get to come home for a few days! Can you come get me?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in fifteen. Make sure you have everything you need."

"Alright, bye." I wheeled over to the pile of clean clothes on the windowsill and packed them into my overnight bag. I left out a pair of jeans and a dark blue wife beater to change into; yeah I was definitely a Torretto. Now that the clothes were packed, I changed into my outfit for the day and rolled over to the sink to brush my teeth, tossing my toothbrush into the bag as well.

I sighed as I looked at my reflection. My hair was starting to grow back again, looking like a really low buzz cut, but that wouldn't last long. I had a chemotherapy session scheduled for next week, meaning it would just fall out. I brushed it and threw the brush in the bag. I made up the bed, grabbed my bag and wheeled outside to wait for Dom.

* * *

It didn't take long for that red Mazda RX-7 to show up or my big brother to step out and smother me with a hug, along with a teddy bear.

"I've missed you so much. I'm sorry I've been so busy lately."

"I understand, Dom. You run a garage, it takes a lot to run it."

He told me stay by the car while he ran in and signed my release papers. When he came back, he helped me out of the chair and into the car, putting my bag and the chair in the trunk before getting in and zooming off towards the fort.

"Ahh, I've missed this car too. So many fun memories!" He just smiled and continued driving.

"I ran into this cool guy earlier. He caught me when my leg gave out."

"Oh no, I don't have to worry about some buster on top of everything else with you now, do I?"

"Nah, I'll probably never see him again. You know how that stuff goes."

"Good, I'm not having anyone corrupt my baby sister."

"Oh please Dom, I'm not a baby anymore. I'll be 20 years old soon."

"You'll always be my baby, Bella, you know that." Sighing, I just looked out of the window as he sped through the streets of L.A. The only thing on my mind right now was the comfort of my home and my family. I couldn't wait to see them all in one sitting; it's been way too long.


End file.
